A settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit that former U.S. Sen. James Abourezk filed against an Internet site that labeled him a traitor, lawyers for both sides said Saturday.

Abourezk, who’s of Arab descent, was a Democratic U.S. senator from 1973 to 1979 and now practices law in Sioux Falls. He accused ProBush.com of libel for putting him on a “traitor’s list” for criticizing President Bush.

Also named as defendants were Michael Marino, the site’s editor and publisher, and Ben Marino, co-owner. ProBush.com is headquartered in West Point, Penn., according to court documents.

More than two years agoThe Volokh Conspiracy looked at this case

The rules under libel law are generally the same as the rules the Court discussed above; and under those rules, probush.com and other similar speakers should win. The site makes clear that by “traitor” it means those people who “do not support our President’s decisions.” Readers would understand that — as is often the case — the site is expressing a moral opinion about those who don’t support the President’s decisions, rather than making a factual claim about criminal actions that they have allegedly committed. I don’t approve of the site’s rhetoric; but its operators have a constitutional right to engage in it.

This stupid case, which has dragged on for years until ProBush got tired of defending its honor and agreed to pay a nominal fine of $1, while insisting that it was right, is an great case of why Anti-SLAPP laws are so important. Ever since nationmasterthreatened to sue me I’ve been paying more attention of legal harassment of whistleblowers, from Canada to Illinois.

Anti-SLAPP laws, which make it clear that critical speech is not “defamation” and that legalistic harassers should pay for lawyer fees, are an important tool in curbing these attacks on the first amendment.

It is particularly sad that this latest outrage comes from my home state of South Dakota. That Senator Abourezk has followed in the long-line of former South Dakotan politicians whose families have grown mysteriously wealth does not bother me — that is life in our simple state, and is habit among both Republicans and Democrats.

That is a silly lawsuit. If you call someone a 'traitor' it doesn't necessary mean you are calling them a traitor against the US as outlined in the constitution, and even if you were, the average visitor to the site would come away with the distinct impression that you shouldn't take them seriously.

First of all i think you are all sick, if i speak aganist this war-monger president its because i have a right to and i am not a slave or a puppet to any white man that does not help the poor but the rich.